


Alcohol and Tumblr Don't Mix

by ivywitch (sopheg)



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Bartender!Alice, Bartender!Remus, Em and Darcy could probably sue me, Fluff, JKR could sue us all, Multi, Tumblr, i'm attempting angst, inspired by a:tb, messaging, oh well, s'not really working, side of jily, wolfstar
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-02-09
Updated: 2016-07-08
Packaged: 2018-05-18 18:45:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 12,317
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5939290
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sopheg/pseuds/ivywitch
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Remus was content with his job at the Tangled Ivy Inn, until a gorgeous stranger decides to turn collected Remus into a spluttering mess. Things just get even more complicated when he receives a Tumblr ask from a cute anon, and Remus finds himself caught between the two crushes.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Remus sighed, trailing the dirty cloth across the varnished wood. He returned the rag into a back pocket of his black apron and adjusted the glass resting on the bar. He wiped the bar once more to feel the tiniest bit productive. It had been a relatively quiet night at the Tangled Ivy, which would usually please Remus, yet tonight he was rather bored. Bartending wasn't exactly his dream job, but when his close friend, Emmeline, had asked for help when she first bought the small bar, Remus couldn't turn down the good income and easy shifts. The Tangled Ivy was a small but popular bar in a quaint and affordable area of London, which meant most of the residents were university students and lived in small flats or share houses, like Remus. Most of the Tangled Ivy customers came regularly, which for Remus meant not much variation. But he liked it that way. He sighed again, wistfully glancing at the clock across from the service bar and was reminded he would be stuck here for another two hours while the last few customers finally headed home at closing time. This was his usual shift, from midnight til three am, yet today he had begun work at nine o'clock. This previous shift was normally Alice's, but due to a 'very important occasion', it was left for Remus to cover for her.

Remus first met Alice when they attended high school together, a period of time both of them prefer to forget. They bonded over their both talent in and love of English, and similarly their quite horrible lack of mathematics skill. After graduation they bought a flat near both Remus and Alice's university, which they share along with Frank, Alice's long-time boyfriend. As if on queue, Remus lifted his head as a forceful gust of cold wind entered the warm room as someone opened the door. Remus craned his neck, letting out a breath of relief as he spotted short brown curls and baby blue gumboots. Why Alice was wearing her favourite shoes at the early hours of the morning, Remus didn't have a clue.

"Wolfboy! How's my shift going?" She smiled cheekily and made her way around the bar, her hazel eyes peeking out from underneath the fox ears sewn to the hood of her coat.

"Don't act so smug," Remus scoffed, whacking her over the head with his rag.

Alice cried out, patting down her frizzy hair before pouting in an attempt to remain dignified, "First, that rag is so gross; you do not know what fluids that has wiped up," she pulled a face as she pointed at the rag, earning a disgusted chuckle from Remus, before she continued, "Second, I am allowed to looked smug, as I have just been on one of the greatest dates of my life!" She beamed now, her freckled cheeks stretching wide as she bounced enthusiastically on the balls of her feet.

Remus rolled his eyes, he was never one for romance, but as he was used to his roommate's antics, he let her continue to squeal. "What did Frank do now?" He had known Frank almost as long as he had known Alice. That was mostly because Alice and Frank had the record for the longest lasting relationship in history.

Alice caught his eye roll and hit him playfully on the shoulder. "Oh don't be so frigid, Rem! I was going to tell you my exciting news but I guess I'll have to wait to tell my other friends," she huffed, shrugging off her coat and hanging it on the coat rack.

"Alice, you don't have any other friends," Remus smirked.

"That's so rude!" She cried out.

"You're not denying it!" He retorted as a customer approached. He turned to face them, holding a finger up to Alice as a signal for her to pause.

"Hi, what would you like?" Remus asked, his voice clicking into the perfect public servant tone, lifting his head a moment later to see the most gorgeous person he had ever seen. And we're talking against all competition: models, actors, gods. No one in Remus' extensive memory compared to the customer currently stood two feet away.

Remus didn't want to misgender them, as he was unsure of how they identified, but they sure looked amazing. Their steel grey eyes, glinting under the brightness of the bar's harsh lighting, were accented by their smoky black eyeshadow and plum lipstick. Their hair was long and the purest shade of black he had seen. It was rather curly, without being frizzy, and was twisted up into a half bun. The stranger's high cheekbones and perfect white teeth were accented with concern.

"Um... Everything alright?" They smiled with concern, which was the final switch in Remus' mind that reminded him he needed to speak.

"Uh, sorry. What can I get you?" Remus stuttered, a rare sight for even Alice, who stood a few metres away in a fit of giggles.

The concern on the stranger's face dissolved into a more pleasant smile and he repeated his order. "Two pale ales and four Drowning in Sunshine cocktails, please."

"Of course. Bulk billing, I presume?" He nodded, so Remus continued, "What table?" Remus slowly slipped back into the usual routine, calling for Alice to make up the drinks.

He was surprised to get such a natural response from the pretty customer, as even regular customers turned to check their table before answering.

"Table 4, the second orange booth from the bar." And with that, the mysterious customer turned, Remus noticing that the click clack came from their high heeled boots.

"So, as I was saying," Alice drawled with a knowing smirk, plucking Remus from his dazed state, "Frank is going to Canada!"

Remus almost got whiplash from turning his head that fast. "You most certainly were not 'just saying'! What? When? How?!"

Alice laughed again, "And- and, there are four tickets so you're bringing a friend!"

Remus almost broke his jaw.

 

* * *

 

It was three thirty in the morning as Alice and Remus began the trek through the cobblestoned alleyways of East London, back to their apartment. The ten minute walk him had always provided Remus with some time to reflect and think, but today he was concerned it wouldn't be long enough.

As Remus slotted the worn key into the last padlock of the giant roller doors, his mind flickered to the past hours he had spent as Alice helped him trudge through.

Five more times the beautiful stranger with the pretty eyes had ordered drinks. Fives times in which Remus almost considered asking for his ID, not to prove his age (although Remus admitted to himself that it would be nice to know), but instead to see his correct pronouns. _Then again, not all licences are correct or up to date._ This internal confliction led to the five times Alice had to step in and take the order because Remus wasn't quite functioning.

As the pair passed a tall statue which they had long ago unanimously decided was the halfway point, one burning question still plagued Remus' curiosity.

Unable to help himself, he mumbled, "I just don't understand. I don't think I've ever seen him before."

Alice's shrill giggle cut through the silence of the early morning, prompting Remus' attention to focus on her. He gazed at her, confused, which released an eye roll.

"You can't be serious," she muttered, and when all she got as a reply was a blank stare, she continued, "You are! He and his little group are our most regular customers! They were there on opening night, remember? Almost twice every week ever since."

"No way!" Remus protested in disbelief. "I know all my customers and their orders off by heart."

Alice cocked her head to the left, which Remus knew to be her 'remembering expression'. "I think they always get the chubby guy to order."

At this, most of the puzzle pieces click into place in Remus' head. "Oh, him. Yeah, I remember them, I think..." He trailed off, trying to grasp an entire picture of the group.

Alice sighed, covering her face with her hands. "Every time the pudgy guy orders, and your guy doesn't stop staring," Alice punctuated with another eye roll. At this, Remus' head grew light, barely able to pick up on Alice's following words. "I think his name is Steven."

"He's too pretty for 'Steven'," he muttered blissfully, kicking a loose cobblestone. Snippets of black locks and tan cheek bones littered his minds and he almost didn't catch Alice's next words.

"Not him, the chubby friend," Alice barely even bothered, her voice getting lost between the rattling of her keys in the lock of the lobby, the rattling of the loose cobblestone at it came to a halt and Remus' love-struck state.

He shook his head, determined to not to distract himself from the major news of the night. "Hold up Alice, a holiday in Canada?" He squawked, ashamedly feeling mildly out of breath as he climbed the four flights of stairs. Alice had practically reached the top as Remus hitched his satchel over his shoulder again and trudged along.

"Fuck you and your sports degree!" He whined to himself, as he reached their door, Alice holding it ajar with a cocky smirk.

"Sports _journalism_ ," she corrected smartly. Remus rolled his eyes and pushed past her, dropping the keys into a colourful mug on the table by the door. "As I was saying," Alice continued as she made her way, behind Remus, into the living area. "Yes Remus, Canada," she said casually as she kicked off her gumboots and plonked on the couch. "You know Frank's grandparents are Canadian, and they want to see him for his twentieth."

Remus nodded, making his way into the small adjoining kitchen. It was tradition to make hot chocolate after work in winter, and he smiled at the thought of the many freezing early mornings spent nursing hot chocolate. He grabbed his favourite mug for himself, a cream one with chocolate painted on it, with small brown letters reading 'don't interrupt my chocolate time'.

"Mug?" He asked sleepily, fatigue already creeping in due to the longer shift.

"Black polka dot," She replied easily, before continuing her explanation, "And so he was like 'Sure, but can I bring Al and Rem?' And his dad was unsure if that was polite."

"Mhm," Remus replied to give Alice assurance that he was paying attention. He filled the milk jug as Alice made her way to sit at the bench to be heard over Remus frothing the milk.

"And so his grandpa was like, 'Nah, it can be your present. Here's four tickets and you're all welcome to stay for two weeks'," she recounted happily.

Remus was in disbelief as he reached for their marshmallow stash. One white and one pink for Alice, two whites for himself. He didn't quite understand why he was invited though.

"Because you're his _friend_ , Remus," she answered his unasked question earnestly. She reached for her cup across the bench like a toddler grabbing at their favourite toy. Remus grunted in annoyance, shoving her mug towards her and asking yet another question.

"But, what about the fourth ticket?" He queried. "Why do I get to pick someone?" The pair made their way back to the couch and sat in their usual places, Alice curled up near the wall and Remus in the corner of the L-shape.

"Because he literally has no other friends!" Alice laughed, although it was slightly forced. Remus knew she was avoiding the third wheeling that was definite to occur otherwise. He sighed in exasperation.

"Maybe I could take Em," he considered aloud, to which Alice groaned.

"I love Em and all, but you really want to take our boss on vacation?"

"No, she's perfect!" Remus lit up, gesturing to punctuate his words which ended up in a little hot chocolate spilling on the floor. "It'll be some incentive to let us get off our shifts. And she's not really our boss, we just work for her."

Alice rolled her eyes. "Uh Rem, that _is_ the definition of boss. And if none of us were working, who would? We can't let Cheekbones be disappointed can we?" Alice laughed, making Remus blush. "There's an idea!" She giggled, "You can take him as your plus one!"

Remus knew that it was a joke, yet he couldn't help the warm sensation that spread in his gut at the thought of spending two weeks in Canada with 'Cheekbones'.

Alice left the teasing at that and instead followed their routine by grabbing her phone and logging onto Tumblr. Remus felt unusually content as he reached for his Mac and opened Tumblr. He scrolled through his dash, reblogging a few aesthetic posts, some memes, a few things that made him laugh, some brilliant poetry, and was hitting the post button on a small witty quote as he noticed a blue notification on his inbox letting him know he had a new message. Remus wasn't surprised as his blog was fairly established, and he received messages of love from his followers, praising him on his poems and fiction or his general life help. He clicked the first message.

_hey moony im a big fan of your blog and just wanted to let you know how much i value every single one of your posts :D_

The message made him smile, as most did, and he was tagging his standard reply before he saw a new message pop into his inbox.

_hey moony its me again and i just wanted to say that ive been having a bad morning and your last post made me laugh so thanks :D_

This really struck a cord inside him. This anon was here, live with him, appreciating his jokes and personality. He deleted his reply, opening the second message.

_Dear cute anon, Hi! As you would probably know, nothing makes me happier than brightening my followers' lives, but it is very humbling to receive this comment. It makes me feel very special. I hope your day gets better, and whatever shit you have to deal with helps develop your character depth :) Yours, Moony_

Remus smiled as he quickly proofread his reply and tagged it with #ask & #anon. He paused, adding #dear cute anon, just as a precaution, as he had a suspicion that this exchange would not stop here. As he hit send, the loud sound of the intercom buzzed, startling him, and Alice, out of their dazed browsing state.

Alice mumbled a sleepy 'I'll get it' and lifted herself from the couch. A glance at the right-hand corner of his Mac confirmed it was four thirty, at which time Frank was home from his night shift at the airport outside of town. Remus closed all tabs, before shutting down his laptop and making his way to his bedroom down the hall.

"G'night Alice, Frank!" He called, muffled by a yawn and the door between the two parties. He barely changed properly, knowing in the back of his mind he would regret not showering once he woke up, before slipping under the covers. Remus almost didn't have time to think about the stunning guy and the cute anon before he was swept away by his exhaustion. Almost.


	2. Chapter 2

A whine emitted from the mountain of blankets, "Piss off, you little shit!"

James laughed, throwing another pillow at the mound. "Get up! It's quarter to two!"

Another groan of protest - but no movement - from Sirius, and James took this as an invitation for him to plonk himself onto the small spot of mattress currently unoccupied by the pile of bed linen.

"Babe, it won't hurt your ego too badly. C'mon, it is probably healthier that you finally feel the effects of a hangover. You did drink a lot, last night," he reminded him, as he promised Lily he would be polite now. Well, at least until his head had stopped throbbing so Sirius could feel the brutal teasing about losing his title of 'The Best Drinker in Existence'.

"M'not hungover," Sirius groaned, slipping his head out from underneath the doonah and resting it in the other boy's lap.

"You can admit it to me, I'm used to it; Pete however, was only able to form sentences that were comprised of grunts until _lunchtime_ ," he smirked. He paused for three seconds and observed the unusual puffiness of Sirius' eyes, and the blotted redness underneath them. Realisation dawned on him, his voice breathy with disbelief, "Oh my god."

He then turned his head in the direction of the door and, Sirius presumed, Lily and Peter, and hollered "Sirius isn't hungover; he's smitten.” With a grin at Sirius, he teased, “For Freckles!"

Sirius groaned exasperatedly. The sounds of the shuffling of two pairs of footsteps in the hallway were the only warning before Lily and Peter burst into Sirius' now far too crowded room.

 "Sirius has pulled a Prongs," Peter exclaimed, teasing both of the boys at once.

This made James' face flush, and he grumbled "Well, it worked didn't it?"

Lily pecked him on the cheek as a reply and instead turned her attention to the pouting boy. She offered him a gentle, sympathetic smile, to comfort him. "What happened to make you miserable? Didn't you talk to 'Freckles'?"

He pulled the covers back over his head, hiding his blush, and began to detail why exactly life was horrible. "I did, but I couldn't stop staring - he's even more beautiful up close, you see - he has at least nineteen freckles on his nose. I was counting but by the nineteenth I noticed he was giving me a disgusted look like I was a freak so I asked him if he was ok and then he got uncomfortable and I kept going back but every time he got the girl to serve me instead. He's going to hate me forever," he mumbled, his voice getting progressively quieter as he rambled.

"No one could be disgusted at you, Pads," Lily reassured him, pulling the covers back carefully to smile at him. "And for someone who can read people quite well, you were pretty blind. From where I sat, he looked like he was interested in you, too," she winked.

"And it's not the end of the world if he can't see your awesomeness straight away, either, Padfoot," James comforted, smiling knowingly, “He’ll come around.” He then sat up with more excitement, announcing loudly, "Now you are up, you need coffee!"

Peter whined about the volume as the four made their way out of Sirius' room. It wasn't until he reached for his phone as he stood up, that Sirius remembered the messages he sent to his favourite Tumblr blogger, darksideofthemoony, last night. As he made his way to the kitchen, he turned on his phone, and the notifications queued from last night dinged their way onto his lock screen. One in particular caught his eye.

**_darksideofthemoony answered your ask_ **

He smiled, setting down his phone on the bench and picked up the coffee mug. Sirius had a funny feeling that it wasn't the two sugars that James had stirred into his coffee that made it coffee taste that little bit sweeter.

 

* * *

 

**_anon asked you a question:_ **

_hey moony, it's me again, (and I'm feeling a lot better, thanks to your reply) I thought it might be alright to ask you who your absolute otp is? as always, love your blog :D_

 

**darksideofthemoony answered your ask:**

_dear cute anon, pleased to hear you took it in your stride. I ship johnlock better than FedEx. Who is yours?_

 

**_anon asked you a question:_ **

_are you sure? FedEx is express, it's in the title after all :D. my otp is johnlock as well. what do you think of mary? :D_

 

**_darksideofthemoony answered your ask:_ **

_dear cute anon, hold up, do you mean Mary or Moriarty? In my eyes they are the same thing. #MariartyConspiracyIsCanon_

 

**_anon asked you a question:_ **

_#youaresuchanerd #whatiswiththehashtags #ilikebacon_

 

**_darksideofthemoony answered your ask:_ **

_#youarethebigestnerd #don'thateonmyhashtags #i'mtakingcustodyofthebacon_

 

* * *

 

"Wolfy!" Alice yelled from the living room far too loudly in Remus' opinion. It was three pm and Remus had slept in. Due to the all of the housemates' occupations, both Alice and Remus being bartenders and Frank working night shifts at the hospital, no one stirred in their household until at least one in the afternoon. Their lifestyle was entirely opposite to the rest of the world, which Remus enjoyed very much. Too lazy to get out of bed, had spent the past twenty minutes on his phone, on Tumblr, browsing and reblogging the occasional post from his dash, and more importantly, discussing Sherlock with the newly discovered 'cute anon'. It had only been a few hours and yet he still fell harder and harder every time he received a notification.

"What?" He groaned half-heartedly in response to Alice's call.

"Come here," she pleaded, the aggression and curiosity in her voice suddenly absent. Begrudgingly, he stumbled out of bed and trudged up the hallway, entering the living room to see Alice also staring at her phone. He was about to head back to bed when Alice lifted her eyes, narrowing them, and asked,  "Who is this?"

Remus immediately recognised the conversation from minutes before and replied, "The cute anon that keeps asking me questions."

Alice rolled her eyes, pointing to the tags. "I can see that: you tag it in every post! But who is it?"

Remus shrugged, suddenly feeling like he was back in eighth grade during a talk on cyber safety. He felt a twist in his gut. "An anon?" He replied, his uneasiness forcing the words out more as a question than an answer.

Alice smiled to reassure Remus, but her eyes were still clouded with confusion. "But what about Cheekbones?" She asked. The mention of his nickname sent a fuzzy feeling to Remus' stomach. The pleasant sensation abruptly turned sour, and Remus was sure he felt a giant lead weight dropping in his gut.

"Uh- I dunno," he stammered. He felt so betrayed by his own mind. Remus knew nothing about either of the two complete strangers, yet within the past 12 hours, both had solidified a place in Remus' mind.

Alice waved a hand in front of his face, "Uh, Remus? Can you hear me?" His eyes flickered back into focus, and Alice sighed in relief, "Thank God. Are you alright? You zoned out again."

"Nah, I'm good. Sorry," he muttered, detached, sitting down on the couch.

"Don't be silly," Alice reminded him, turning out of the room, and headed toward the kitchen for to make breakfast for Remus.

 

* * *

 

**_anon asked you a question:_ **

_hey moony, it's me again, couldn't help noticing your negativity tag was quite frequent today :'( sending smiles :) :P :D_

 

"What are you doing?" James asked cautiously. He had heard a clatter come from Sirius' room and tried to ignore it. But after he wouldn't stop grinning this afternoon, he was certain something was up. James knocked twice but gave up and opened the door abruptly.

"What," Sirius asked, irritated. He was standing in front of his vanity, pausing mid winged eyeliner. He had already put on his favourite shade of plum lipstick, and James groaned as soon as he saw the skirt Sirius bought with Lily at the markets last Sunday.

"Nope," James shook his head, walking back to the living room.

Sirius finished his eyeliner  and scrambled out behind him, his boot laces undone and flicking across the wooden floorboards. "But I talked to him last night," he protested, pouting at Peter who had just come out of his room. The short man lifted his hands in surrender to show he did want to get involved and backed into his room again.

"Nope," James repeated indignantly, falling onto the couch next to Lily.

Curious, she asked the room in general, "Nope to what?"

James groaned, sliding his hands over his face and grunting, "Don't ask."

Sirius reached across and grabbed Lily by the hands, "We have to go out tonight." James rolled his eyes and reached for his laptop.

"Why is that?" Lily queried despite James' warning.

"I haven't finished counting his freckles, and I don't even know his name and I haven't even asked him out," Sirius rushed, bone-crushingly squeezing Lily's hands.

Lily laughed at his dramatics and pulled him onto the couch next to her. "Pads, I love you and all but maybe you need to be a bit more realistic."

At this, Sirius' face fell. How the hell was this loving?

James snorted, which caused Lily to snap her head around, prepared to reprimand him for his insensitivity. Before she could, James turned the laptop around in his lap to show the inbox page of Tumblr. This caused both Lily and Sirius to squint, trying to understand why he would interrupt their important discussion.

 

**_darksideofthemoony answered your ask:_ **

_dear cute anon, I feel much better, thanks to you after all of those emoticons. Thanks for the smiles: you seem to be an expert. I am crap at them but this is the best I can do ;)_

 

Sirius flushed, snatching the laptop from James' grasp. He wasn't quick enough as Lily stood and plucked it from his grasp. She opened the  darksideofthemoony blog in a new tab and found the tag #dear cute anon.

"You're the 'cute anon'?" She exclaimed.

Sirius sheepishly tugged at the hair at the nape of his neck and mumbled a 'yeah'. She set the laptop down in front of the three and scrolled through the messages.

"This'll teach you to log out of Tumblr when you use my Mac," James snickered, which earned a weak punch from Sirius.

"Do you know what he looks like?" Lily asked, searching for a selfie, but with no result. Without waiting for an answer from Sirius, she thrust the computer into his hands, nodding towards the keyboard and suggested, "Ask him for a selfie!"

Sirius was unsure about this. He voiced his thoughts, "If Moony didn't post a selfie yet, why would he as soon as a stranger he began talking to yesterday asked?"

James pat him on the back gently, "Worse result, he freaks out and doesn't talk to you for a little while," he smiled sympathetically.

"But those type always come around," Lily winked at James, which prompted a quick kiss. Sirius made a gagging sound and turned to the keyboard.

 

* * *

 

**_anon asked you a question:_ **

_hey moony, it's me again. yknow what helps me feel good about myself? getting pointless compliments from strangers about my general awesomeness. (hint: please can you post a selfie) :D_

 

"Holy shit, Alice what do I do?"

Remus was at the kitchen bench, as Alice and Frank made spaghetti. Alice turned around, currently putting herbs into the sauce, and rested her saucy palms on the bench. She wiped her hands on a Star Wars tea towel, asking, "What now, Rem?"

Remus' voice was calm and steady, which took himself by surprise, as he answered, "The cute anon asked for a selfie."

Frank chuckled, turning away from the boiling water to give Remus a knowing look. "Friends don't ask for selfies."

Alice laughed, smacking him on the arm with a shrilling 'shut up', before turning to Remus with a determined look. "What did you reply?"

Remus cringed, knowing all too well how involved Alice could get. Maybe this wasn't a good idea. If he had kept his identity this private for so long, why should he stop now? He shrugged, "Nothing yet."

"Well go!" she cried out, dinner long forgotten as she came around the bench, and bent over Remus' shoulder.

 

* * *

 

**_darksideofthemoony answered your ask:_ **

_dear cute anon, I must say, your logic isn't flawed. I think it's about time this website got even more details about me to potentially use against me. Gimme a minute_

 

"Guys, he replied!" Sirius almost shouted, and within three seconds the small group had passed through the door. He'd spent the anxious three minutes removing his makeup and taking off his boots. The others had insisted they were still recovering from last night's escapades.

"Well, is he cute?" Lily asked excitedly, snatching the computer from Sirius' grasp.

"He's just posting it now, apparently," he replied, bouncing in his seat.

Suddenly, Peter's voice quietly entered the room. "I don't want to ruin the mood, but what about Freckles?"

This hit Sirius hard. How did the guy he'd been pining over for months escape his mind? All he has wanted is to impress Freckles, and now, he was caught up over some online stranger who calls himself Moony? His voice had cut out, and he looked to Lily and James for help, but only saw them staring at the screen. Lily's face was bursting into a smile, but James' mouth had opened in shock.

James looked up from the screen and directly at Sirius. "Uh, Pads. He _is_ Freckles."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks everyone for the great response so far! I'm pretty busy with school so unfortunately my posting won't be regular. If anyone would like to beta this piece it would be greatly appreciated.  
> Also my tumblr is fortuitousawesome so come interact with me there!


	3. Chapter 3

_due to the insufferable #dear cute anon, I have been persuaded to post my face //  me and my bestie @wanderingalice _

_1, 746 notes_

_ _

Remus took a shaky breath as his face popped up on his dashboard. Frank smirked as Remus and Alice huddled by his laptop, waiting for some kind of response from the anonymous friend. "Y'know, that picture could be interpreted many ways."

Alice look at Frank, puzzled at first, before realisation dawned. "Damn it," she turned to Remus, with an almost scrutinising glare, "How gay are you on here?"

"What?" Remus spluttered, yet Alice's determination didn't waver. Frank snorted. "Uh, as gay as I am in real life?" Remus' answer came out more as a question, which caused both Frank and Alice to giggle.

"Good," Alice choked out between fits of laughter, "Because they may think we're a couple."

Remus made a disgusted face, before turning to Frank sincerely. "I'm still amazed at how you have survived this long." Alice smacked his shoulder, but as she opened her mouth to retort, a ping sounded from the forgotten laptop. Remus grabbed the mouse, shuffling the computer to an angle that allowed only him to read the message and opened his inbox.

 

* * *

 

**_anon asked you a question:_ **

_hey moony, it's me again. I'm finding it hard to believe this is your first selfie post? this will explode. definitely. you (and Alice too) must already be models :D_

**_darksideofthemoony answered you ask:_ **

_dear cute anon, haha no. Alice and I aren't models, except she was very pleased with your consideration. She would also like to let you know that it is your turn to do something nerve-racking, which I am not forcing in any way. G'night_

 

* * *

 

It was two am and Remus was more bored than he had ever been. The Tangled Ivy was busy - Saturday nights were always popular - but most of the customers had stopped ordering drinks and just sat talking. The whole bar had hit, what Emmeline called, the 'two am lull'. And due to the fact that said boss was sitting behind the bar, two metres away, Remus couldn't slack off like he normally would around this time and go on Tumblr. He was immensely bored out of his mind. Disappointingly, Cheekbones and Crew hadn't come in tonight, which Remus had half expected as they had drunk a lot of alcohol the night before. This also left him without anyone to stare longingly at. This drew his attention to 'his situation', as entitled by Alice.

He has a crush on two people; one he knows nothing about but knows he is gorgeous, and someone he chats with daily but doesn't even know their name. Suddenly, Crazy Frog began playing from his pocket, interrupting his thoughts. Emmeline shot him a disapproving glare, before she rolled her eyes and gestured to the back room. She tapped her watch, winking at him, before she stood up to tend to the bar as a customer wobbled their way up to it. Remus whispered a 'thank you' and hurried into the store room. He pulled out his phone just in time to see the derpy picture of Alice and answered the call.

"What?" He hissed.

"Don't get angry at me!" She retorted.

"I'm at work," he replied, his tone more annoyed than angry.

"But, but, Cheekbones!" She hurried, which caused Remus to fall onto the bench behind him.

"What?"

There was giggling in the background, followed by a faint comment about his 'honey smooth voice' which Remus only just managed to catch. This caused Remus to realise what was going on. His theory was confirmed when he heard 'Maybe Steven' ask who Cheekbones is until Frank shushed him.

"Alice," Remus hissed, anger and frustration boiling back up again. "You better not be doing what I think you're doing."

"Don't say anything embarrassing!" She called in a motherly tone, then the background noise seemed to cut out.

"Uh, hey," said a familiar voice, at which he should have melted into a puddle but instead felt the urge to murder Alice.

"Oh, for fuck's sake," he muttered, causing a heavenly laugh to echo through the receiver. He flushed in embarrassment.

"I hope you don't kiss your mother with that mouth," Cheekbones retorted with a snort, which Remus found oddly endearing.

"My mother's dead." He didn't mean to admit this grim fact this early on but it just slipped out. The gorgeous guy didn't seem to be fazed.

"I wish my parents were dead," he replied, without a tad of remorse.

It was Remus' turn to snort, however it did not turn out as gracefully as the other's. "It's not all that great."

Cheekbones didn't seem at all disturbed by the dark words that came out of his mouth next. "Can corpses beat you?"

Remus knew he shouldn't laugh but he couldn't help it. "Have you never seen a zombie film?"

This seemed to please the guy. He assumed no one ever knew how to respond to that, and Remus thought he didn't, until the words had formed in his mouth. He let out another hearty laugh and Remus could hear a very faint groan from a boy who he had served once or twice and a comment from the girl called Lily about 'Have you told him yet?'.

"Uh, I'm going to assume your name isn't Freckles," he began awkwardly, which sent Remus into giggles.

"What?" Remus began sarcastically. "You're name isn't Cheekbones?"

"Cheekbones?" He repeated incredulously. "Out of all my stunning qualities, you went with Cheekbones?"

"Damn, I should have called you Modesty," Remus deadpanned, as he realised he couldn't possibly ever get sick of his laughter.

"But seriously, my name's Sirius." Remus could tell his confidence wavered in the tone of his voice.

"Do you like to use that line everytime you introduce yourself?" Remus snickered. "And my name's Remus, so you know, you're really not _that_ weird."

Sirius smirked, "But Remus is just mental, so..." He joked.

"Just elope already!" The other boy cried out in the background.

"Uh, that's just Prongs," Sirius muttered, embarrassed. "It took him four years to ask Lily out," he smiled, before whining, "Oh God, the pining."

"Alice and Frank have been together for like five years - I get you," Remus empathised.

"It's, uh, nice to talk to you properly," Sirius admitted quietly. Remus smiled at the sentiment. He really couldn't be more smitten.

"You too," Remus replied, frantically thinking of ways to pull the conversation any longer. "Listen, my shift's almost over - we've had a quiet night - so where are you all? I could meet up with you guys. I have to meet up with Alice and Frank anyway."

"Oh," there was a shuffling before he replied, "Isle three, Sainsbury's Soho."

Remus laughed, "Alright then. Tell Alice I'm on my way." Before Sirius hung up, Remus added, "See ya, Cheekbones."

Sirius laughed for the last time, "You too, Freckles. Isle three."

He hung up, smiling for a moment before he slipped his phone into his pocket. He slipped out to find Emmeline, smirking at him, keys resting on one finger.

"It's quarter to three," She stated, flicking her hijab up her shoulder.

Remus examined at the clock to find he had indeed spent half an hour on the phone. He turned back to Emmeline with a cringe. "I am so sorry, Em. Alice called and forced me to speak to this guy I served last night, and he's really cute," he rambled, shoving his hands into his pockets and stopped himself from talking even more.

Emmeline laughed, pulling him into a side hug and ruffling his golden curls. "Nah, it's alright. Everyone's left early. I'll lock up; you can go."

He planted a chivalrous kiss on her cheek and grabbed his satchel and coat. "Thanks Em," he hurdled over the bar and made his way to the door. "See you Tuesday!" He called over his shoulder and closed the door behind him.

 

* * *

 

"What the fuck are you doing?" James laughed, sliding down next to Sirius, who was sitting on the floor by the pasta sauces, with a smitten gaze.

"Remus," He said simply, relishing the way the two syllables grumbled in his throat and rolled in between his teeth. Alice's phone lay silent on the linoleum floor.

Behind the boys' heads huddled the group of four eavesdroppers, which Sirius was fully aware of but chose to ignore.

"He wanted you to know he's on his way, Alice," Sirius raised his voice to ensure she could hear. This sent everyone behind him into giggles.

"I still can't believe you are wanderingalice," Lily said suddenly, slapping her hand over her mouth once she had realised what she had said.

"Oh my god, do you follow me?" Alice squealed, grabbing her by the arm and pulling her into isle three. She sat across from Sirius, pulling Lily down with her, and grabbed her phone.

"Uh yeah," she said with a small frantic glance to James. "Of course, you're amazing."

"Wow, thank you. I can't believe that. What are the chances?" She muttered, opening tumblr and bringing up the search tool. "Url?"

"Fieldsofauburn," she answered.

This caused Alice to pause her search, midway through typing the address. "That's you? I love your edits!" Lily blushed. "We're already mutuals, right?"

"Yeah. Is Remus, by any chance, darksideofthemoony?" She asked cautiously, and Sirius shot her a warning glare, yet Alice didn't notice. She just nodded excitedly. Lily let out a breath of reassurance. "I love his poetry. It's just so perfect."

"Isn't it?" Sirius muttered, hoping Alice's obliviousness would let her ignore that.

"You follow him too?"

"Uh, I think everyone does," he muttered, internally scolding himself for being so careless.

Alice's face fell all of a sudden. "So you would know about 'dear cute anon'," she said slowly, which caused James, Lily and Peter to stiffen.

Sirius considered his options. Nod along, say something about awkwardness, then never send another message. Or, he could tell her. "About that," he began, deciding to go with the first, safer, option.

Instead, Alice made up his mind for him. "Oh. My. God," she muttered, her green eyes rapidly widening.

Frank, who had sat down on the other side of Alice, let out a trademark chuckle. "Fuck no," he breathed, checking the faces of their new acquaintances.

"Fuck yes," Sirius muttered stiffly, his eyes never leaving his crossed legs beneath him. The absolute peculiarity of the situation and Sirius' reply sent everyone into hysterical laughter. The whole situation was rather unbelievable. As they laughed, a pair of worn out blue doc martens clacked up to the end of the isle. Everyone had slowly stopped laughing, smiles still wide on their faces as they looked up at golden curls and long, lanky legs.

"Isle three," Remus smirked, a weeny bit out of breath (half because of the run here and the other because of the sight before him), and Sirius was sure this was what heaven felt like.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks everyone for the great response so far! I'm pretty busy with school so unfortunately my posting won't be regular. If anyone would like to beta this piece it would be greatly appreciated.  
> Also my tumblr is fortuitousawesome so come interact with me there!


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey guys omg i have had so much work recently, so sorry about the slight *cough* month *cough* delay! enjoy!

Remus probably had never been so enthusiastic to run anywhere in his life. After impatiently tapping his foot as he waited for the automatic doors, the shopkeeper gave him a snarl and muttered about 'the craziness of today's youth'. Remus wasn't irritated for long before he was taken aback by the sight of isle three. His two best friends, one godsend stranger and three of his friends, sitting lazily against the shelves filled with pasta sauces, at three am.

  
Alice quietly snorted, pointing to his chest, when he realised he had forgotten to take off his apron when he left The Tangled Ivy. Remus felt a blush rising up his neck as his embarrassment grew. He shuffled his feet, bringing an arm up to rub the nape of his neck. Lily scooted to the side sympathetically, leaving a space for Remus between Alice and herself. He swiftly untied the dirty apron and slipped it over his head and sat down. He folded it neatly and put it in his satchel before anyone spoke.

  
"You must be Remus, I'm Lily. Nice to meet you," she smiled, desperate to defuse the awkward tension.  
"Yep, that's me. Nice to meet you," Remus replied, his blush fading. He took a double take and spun back to Lily before he introduced himself to the others. "Are you, by any chance, fieldsofauburn on Tumblr? I love your travel diaries."  
She smiled, which came out more as a cringe, and nodded while the others frantically looked to each other. "I love your poetry," Lily replied polity.  
"Thank you," Remus turned to the chubby boy, not noticing the unease within the group. "I'm going to assume you're not named Steven," he said, unapologetically Remus like, before sticking out a lean hand.  
"Peter Pettigrew," he smiled, taking his hand and shaking it once. He had short blonde hair which was combed neatly and wore very dull clothes. Remus could guess he was the timid sort. Remus turned to the other boy, similarly lanky, but with dark brown hair and green eyes.  
"Prongs?" Remus awkwardly asked, which earned a joyful, hearty laugh from the man.  
"James Potter, properly." His accent was thickly British, despite his arguably Indian appearance. His smile was extremely bright, as he added "Pads must have called me that."  
Remus must have put on a confused expression, as he clarified, "Padfoot is Sirius' nickname. Other than Cheekbones, of course," he added cheekily. As soon as Remus had been relieved that his blush had subsided, it rose again at the mention of the stupid nickname.

"Are you ever not blushing?" A familiar voice taunted, causing Remus to turn his attention to Sirius. His hair was messily pulled up into a bun, yet a few loose strands were framing his face effortlessly. Without makeup, he was still as gorgeous as ever, and his icy bluish grey eyes were twinkling with amusement.  
He sat stunned for a few moments, before smartly retorting, "It's simply because of my ghostly pale skin." It was supposed to be a comeback, however, it came out more desperate than he intended.  
"So, where do you live?" He asked to relieve tension, which only sent most of the group into laughter. Alice muttered 'stalkerish much' and Remus groaned and buried his face in his hands.  
"You start conversation, then," he grumbled, peeking in between his fingers to see Sirius swatting at the others' to get them to stop embarrassing Remus. He was certain his heart had melted.  
Once the most of the laughter had subsided, Sirius spoke up. "We all share a flat in Soho, two streets away from here."  
Remus smiled at him gratefully and replied with ease, "We're a few minutes walk north from here. Unfortunately, I share with these love sick idiots," he chuckled, which lead to Frank muttering 'speak for yourself' and sending everyone but Remus and Sirius into giggles.

  
As the others were distracted, Sirius mouthed, "Wanna go for a walk," a hopeful smile on his face. Remus nodded and stood, offering an arm for Sirius. This caught the attention of the group, who were staring at them with puzzled expressions.  
Remus just smirked and saluted to the small gathering. "Fuck you losers," Sirius departed curtly, turning on his boot heel with Remus linked on an arm as the pair left the store in a fit of quiet giggles.

"Fuck you losers," Sirius departed curtly, turning on his boot heel with Remus linked on an arm as the pair left the store in a fit of quiet giggles.

 

* * *

  
Remus was unbelievably tired, but he couldn't remember a time when he had felt more alive. Every inch of skin that had contact with Sirius' was on fire, and suddenly, his black t-shirt and black skinny jeans were far too warm to be worn in the Summer heat. Remus decided to break the silence. "Ok so I am hyper aware of the hurt caused by misgendering so I just wanted to bring this up. What are your pronouns?" His voice shook a little with nervousness, so he swallowed thickly.

To Remus' surprise, Sirius stopped walking and turned to him, the largest grin spread across his face.  
"No one has ever asked me that without me prompting them," he stated, water forming in his eyes. He shook his head and began to walk again. "I'm genderfluid but I've stuck with he/him pronouns. It's just easier that way." His voice had returned to stability, but his grin didn't falter.  
"Phew," Remus smiled back, "I wanted to make sure I got it right."

They had reached a small courtyard littered with little benches and tables, similar to the one which The Tangled Ivy was in. The pair sat, Sirius lazily resting his head on Remus' shoulder, which sent butterflies into the latter's gut.

"You're gay, right?" Sirius asked. This made Remus snort at his abruptness. Sirius softly giggled at Remus' snort as he replied.  
"Uh, homoromantic, for sure. But I might be grey-asexual. I dunno," Remus mumbled, turning away.  
Sirius gently grasped his shoulders turning him to face him. His face had turned serious yet his eyes were still soft.  
"I hope you know that that is totally valid. And you," Sirius prodded Remus' chest, causing his heartbeat to race even more, "You are totally valid."  
Remus was sure this was far too emotional then he had anticipated.  
"I'm panromantic asexual," he informed, and then added more thoughtfully, "But now maybe not so much."  
Remus caught the hidden intention in his words and blushed even more. He desperately searched his mind for another topic of conversation, but Sirius supplied it for him.  
"What are you studying at uni?" He asked, before hurriedly adding, "If you are at uni, that is."  
"English literature and gender studies," Remus replied, thankful that he didn't have to think to deep as his brain had turned to mush.  
"That sounds awesome. I'm doing engineering and architecture," he replied. "But I really love art."

Remus was confused at how someone could be so intelligent, talented and gorgeous person, and ruled it down to the jackpot of genetics. "What do you create?"  
Sirius' cheeks lightly blushed, as he answered sheepishly, "Uh, drawings and paintings, sometimes photography. Of portraits mostly."  
"You'll have to show me one day," Remus said excitedly, and Sirius lit up at the prospect of spending more time with the gorgeous boy in front of him.  
"Maybe I can paint you," Sirius smiled and shifted his legs up onto the bench to face Remus properly. Remus mirrored his actions.  
"I hear you write?" He stated, more of a question than anything else.  
Remus brought his hand back up to behind his neck and Sirius catalogued this in his mind as 'Cute Things Remus Does When Embarrassed', right next to covering his face and blushing horribly.  
"Poetry, short stories, that sort of thing yeah," he explained.  
"You'll have to show me one day," Sirius joked, repeating Remus' earlier words. He felt extremely triumphant as Remus let out a laugh.  
"Maybe I can write about you," he mimicked, through laughter.  
"Touché," Sirius smiled, as the laughter subsided.

They sat, facing each other on a small wooden bench, asking each other questions about themselves and sharing anecdotes, regularly interspersed with laughter.  
"Favourite food?"  
"Easy - chocolate. You?"  
"Probably coffee."  
"How do you take it?"  
"Black with two sugars."  
"Yuck. Milk, no sugar for me. Or a mocha."  
"Of course."

 

* * *

  
It was six am when the boys reached Sirius' flat. They had only noticed the time when the sun began to light the tops of the buildings around them and decided it was about time they headed off. Sirius had persistently asked to walk Remus home, but the latter had insisted the reverse as Sirius' flat was closer.

  
"Seriously, I've got like a minute walk from yours, I'll be fine," Remus persuaded as they walked into Sirius' street.  
"Don't you mean Sirius?" He joked, causing Remus to gently shove his shoulder against the other boy's. They continued to walk, their pace getting slower and slower, neither of them removing their shoulders. As they walked their natural rhythm was slightly disjointed, as Remus was much taller, even though Sirius was in heeled boots. Somehow, their fingers bumped against each other. Sirius slowly reached out his fingers, splaying them enough for Remus to slip his slender fingers into his. Their hands interlaced, and Remus released a contented sigh. Sirius slowed to a halt which Remus took as his queue that they had reached Sirius' flat.  
They stood in front of a metre wide façade, with a hand painted baby blue door and orange knob. Next to the yellow doorbell were the names of who lived there on little paper plaques. There were only two, and the only one Remus was interested in read 'Here lives the Marauders: Padfoot, Prongs, Wormtail and Redhind'.

  
Neither of the boys spoke for a few minutes, their lightheaded breaths floating around them in the early morning sunshine.  
"You could always stay," Sirius prepositioned quietly, his fingers latching a little tighter.  
"I'd better get home before they worry," Remus replied, distastefully. He really wanted to stay that little bit longer, talk that little bit longer.  
Remus slowly inched his fingers out of Sirius' grasp, causing Sirius' demeanor to fall. Then, out of no reasoning whatsoever except the need to prolong his time with the other boy, he tightly wrapped his arms around Sirius' waist. Sirius stiffened in surprise, but after two frantic seconds on Remus' behalf, he pushed himself onto his tiptoes, slid his arms up around Remus' shoulders and nestled his head into the crook of Remus' neck. They fitted together like two jigsaw puzzles as if their height differences enabled them to curl around each other. Remus smelt of chocolate and coffee and wood, and Sirius wanted to bottle it to keep forever. Remus inhaled, nose filling with vanilla and smoke and leather and he knew he wanted to ask Sirius whether he could borrow a shirt, but thought the better of it. Everything felt as if this was meant to happen all along.

  
"Ghm," a deep voice cleared its throat behind them. They jumped out of the hug, shoulders still glued together, to see James standing in Avengers pyjama pants and a batman t-shirt, today's newspaper in one hand and a mug of coffee in the other.  
"Morning," he greeted smugly, causing Remus' face to flush and Sirius to roll his eyes.  
"Oh, shut up, Prongs," Sirius quipped, slinging his right arm around Remus' waist lazily.  
"You coming in?" James asked, taking another sip from his mug and turning the orange door handle. Sirius turned to Remus with an expectant look, who just stood looking between the two boys and the way back to the apartment.  
"One coffee wouldn't hurt?" James suggested with a bright smile, and Remus released a conflicted sigh.  
"Sorry," he frowned turning to the shortest boy. "I haven't slept in a while," he explained warily.  
Sirius' handsome features melded into an expression much like a scolded puppy.

  
Just then, Lily's deep red hair poked out of the doorway to the left to address the small gathering. She yawned and rubbed her eyes, "What is going on-," by the time she had opened her eyes properly she realised Remus was with the two boys. "Remus," she happily greeted, despite the obvious signs that she had been woken by their commotion. "Are you coming in?"  
Remus looked to Sirius, who was peering at him hopefully through fallen hair. Remus shook his head, deciding he needed time to process this. "Uh, no thanks, Lily. I'd best be off," he smiled, and Lily lifted her hand in a small wave and turned back inside.  
"Thanks James," Remus reached out to shake his hand, which James reciprocated polity. Sirius sent him a look and with a small wave, James followed Lily into the flat.  
Deciding he probably couldn't make things worse, he opened his arms slowly. Sirius clung to him.

All of a sudden, the sounds of Crazy Frog interrupted their hug. Remus groaned, sliding out of the hug and reaching into his back pocket. His phone had been vibrating all morning, but he had paid it no mind. Now Alice was calling and he decided it was probably for the best that he answered her call.  
"What?" He snapped into the phone. Alice giggled, her voice thick with sleep.  
"No cheery 'Good Morning', Wolfboy?" She groggily asked, sending Sirius into giggles. "Oh, hey Cheekbones!" She called. This only made Sirius chuckle more. How she had superhuman hearing, Remus will never know.  
"Good to know you're alive," she muttered.

  
Remus sighed, "Oh, come off it. You weren't concerned."  
At this Alice chuckled, "No, you're right. I need you to get bread on the way home. And it was actually rather nice," she admitted, causing Remus to scoff. "Frank and I didn't have to be quiet when we shagged."  
Sirius was both extremely amused and amazed at the exchange between the two best friends.  
"I can still hear you anyway," he retorted with a snort.  
"Then we won't try to be quiet anymore," she said smugly and hung up.

  
Remus chuckled, spinning the phone in his hands.  
"I, uh, guess I better head home," he said slowly, tilting his shoulders towards the staircase but his feet stayed rooted in place.  
"Text me?" Sirius asked, also pulling out his gold iPhone 6. Remus looked at the tattered iPhone 4s in his own hands, before unlocking it and handing it over in exchange with Sirius'.  
He opened contacts, pressed the plus and entered 'Freckles' with his number.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hmu on tumblr: fortuitousawesome  
> and if anyone is interested in beta let me know. it would quicken this process so much!  
> love all the comments, don't be shy to chat!


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *cough* um hi. First off, so so sorry that this was abandoned for about half a year. I lost inspiration, motivation and time. But no more excuses! I plan to continue this work, but the updates will be few and far between. (Also, a beta wouldn't hurt! *wink wink*). Okay, more of me later, now onto what you actually wish to read about; enjoy!

With a dazed smile and a sweep of his fringe, Remus entered the shared apartment. He had, as promised, two loaves of bread in his arms, and immediately made his way to the kitchen. He dropped his load onto the messy bench before plonking into the breakfast bar stool.  He was exhausted; Remus concluded he hadn't been up at this time since before he moved to London with Alice. Taking his phone from his pocket and switching it on, Remus' eyes crinkled at the notifications on the screen. He opened one of the two dozen notifications, smile widening tenfold as the blue screen loaded to display a small Tumblr ask.

  
**_anonymous sent you a message_**  
_you're cute x_

**_darksideofthemoony answered your ask_ **  
_Wow, you get less and less subtle each day x_

  
Remus, far too tired to make it back down the hall, fell onto the well-worn couch, his eyelids fluttering with the temptation of sleep. A loud bing sounded from his phone.

  
**_anonymous sent you a message_**  
_im not sure to thank you or slap you x_

  
**_darksideofthemoony answered your ask_ **  
_A slap would be quite difficult to transmit through tumblr x_

  
The sight of a small x at the end of his message poked a pang of guilt in his gut. His hooded eyes flicked around the room, Remus fully understanding how sore and irritated he would be in three to six hours time if he fell asleep here. He decided to distract himself, and opened messaging, just as Alice walked into the living room. She (in)conveniently plonked herself on the couch in the exact spot where he had planned to rest his head. Remus groaned, unprepared for the stream of questions, and swore gently under his breath at the prospect of Alice's certain queries. Alice had a habit of this, every time he returned from an "outing", even if they were infrequent. She smiled, still groggy with sleep (or maybe that was just Remus).

"So," Alice drew on the syllable, hoping to irk Remus enough for him to burst. "How'd it go with Cheekbones?"

Remus had prepped himself for taunts and poking, but Alice was far more mild this time around. She seemed tentative, or something else that Remus could not decipher in his drowsy state. His heart was buzzing, but his body had finally jumped off of the "Sirius High". Something about Sirius' small yet confident frame made Remus feel oddly safe. It was as if Sirius was a fiercely protective puppy or the kid that stands up to all of the primary school bullies. Remus was completely confused as to where that though came from. Then his eyes snapped focus back onto Alice's animated expression, clearly waiting for him to answer. He shook his head minutely as if to shake off the thoughts.

"Uh, sorry Al. I dunno what that was. M'tired. T'was good. Great," her smiled stretched further, then opened as if to finally spill the predicted stream of questions. He interrupted her fast, despite not thinking particularly quickly, he'd had lots of practice. "Why - no, _how_ \- are you so bright at this hour?"

 Alice snorted, before slowly getting up and walking to the window. Much to Remus' horror, she pulled back the grey marle curtains and the crisp golden sunlight hit the concrete floor. Remus squinted and groaned. _Far too early for this._

"Oh shut up you," Alice smirked, flinging herself into the tattered armchair across from him. "S'only, like," she paused to retrieve her phone from her pocket. "Fuck, you're right, it's barely 7am!"

Remus groaned again, throwing a hand dramatically over his eyes. He heard Alice mutter a snarky _'melodramatic shit',_ but he opted to ignore her in favour of reopening his phone. The "Oh," that feel from Remus' mouth sent her racing to sit by his side, attitude forgotten.

**c _heekbones ;) sent you a message_ **

"Oh," she echoed, scrambling for the phone without a second thought for Remus' privacy. They had been roommates for a while, and best friends for ages longer, so he had come to expect it; almost all sense of secrecy flew out the window once Alice considered you a friend. She managed to open the notification. Remus' hands remained still, too shocked to move.

**hey cutie**

"Oh," Remus repeated, feeling his flush creeping up his chest and neck. Alice was a second away from snatching the phone out of Remus' stunned hands. And then a second message came through

**get some sleep. i'm sure poor wittle remmy needs it after a big night x**

Alice squealed. Remus shrieked. Frank swore, peeping his head in the hall with messed hair and an unimpressed glare.

"Fuck you two. It's so fucking early, I can't even come up with an insult. Shut up," he growled, sending Alice into sympathetic giggles. She got up off of the couch, jogged over to him and pecked him on the nose.

"Hey cutie," she said, far loud enough for Remus' blush to kick back into full gear, back in the living room. "Remus has got himself a boyfriend. Go back to bed."

Despite Remus' protesting groans, Frank nodded to him curtly, as if to say _good on ya mate,_ and turned on his heel back into their room.

"Not my boyfriend," Remus muttered as Alice joined him on the couch. She tucked her legs up under herself and rested her head on Remus' shoulder. The hair brushing his neck didn't bother him.

A difficult thought pressed into Alice mind, and before she could tell herself not to, it had formed on her tongue. "So, is the 'cute anon' your boyfriend, then?"

Regret flooded her once she felt Remus stiffen beneath her almost instantly. "Um," he said blankly. Remus slowly removed her head from his shoulder, standing and muttering something about sleep.

"M'sorry, Rem," Alice said softly, standing and stepping closer to him. "M'just teasing." Remus shrugged, turning to the door. "Don't feel guilty about it, Rem," she pleaded.

Remus nodded sharply, back still to her, and went to his room.

Alice collapsed back onto the couch, still warm from Remus' immense body heat. The birds outside their balcony chirped loudly as the sun clumsily brushed the tops of red rooves. She huffed, pulling out her phone for a distraction for her fingers. After a while of staring at the same picture on her tumblr dash, Alice gave up. Exhaling contemplatively, she drew the curtain shut once more.

_If only he knew..._

 

* * *

 

"He'll work it out eventually, Pads," Lily protested, nursing her second mug of coffee for the morning. James was onto his third. Pete was hurriedly sipping his tea while buttoning his shirt for work. Usual Sunday morning routine. Sirius liked routine. ON first impression, many people thought he'd be one to spontaneously run around frantically any chance he got. However, most likely due to his 'unfortunate upbringing' (as Lily quite aptly named it), he needed the same exact thing to happen every week, every day, every Sunday morning. Since he met James on the first day boarding school, he has gradually come to accept the chaos, and learn that sometimes chaos can bring the best fun. Who couldn't, after all, James was about as wild as one could be.

James rolled his eyes, leaning his back against worn wooden bench in the middle of their apartment. "Lil, Pads' not stupid."

Lily raised an eyebrow at her boyfriend, from her position on the stool opposite him, "And neither is Remus."

Pete shouted a farewell from the door, leaving his remarkably empty mug resting on the usual pick up spot, a teetering tower of books. The three said their goodbyes, the door thunked shut, and the flat flittered back to silence.

Lily flashed James a warning look, before lifting her head to address Sirius' back, "When are you going to tell him?"

Sirius lowered the heat on the stove, cautious not to burn the mega-omelette, and turned to the pair. He groaned at the sight of the two curious faces, burying his head in his hands. "I dunno, yet."

Lily's gaze flickered over his fingernails and chipping periwinkle paint. "Remind me to touch up your nails," she said absently.

"Mine too," James said gently, taking another gulp of coffee. Sirius nodded, his hands falling.

"But honestly Sirius," Lily pushed. "Please tell him before it's too late."

James nodded in agreement, gathering the finished mugs and dropping them into the sink. "You too need to be together."

Lily snorted, but nodded.

Sirius' cheeks dusted with pink. He turned toward the omelette abruptly, trying desperately to distract the others. "Who wants some mega-omelette!" he cried out far too loudly for the ears of two friends in the same room at seven-thirty. James and Lily took the hint, smirking to themselves as they took their places at the table. Sirius sat down with a steaming pan of eggs, bacon, capsicum, tomato, mushroom and spinach. He was glad to sit among his friends, eating breakfast and laughing as usual, but his mind couldn't help but drift to freckles and slender legs. He wondered what it would be like to have those same slender legs bumping his knee under the table and a particular smile spreading impossibly wide at the funny story Lily had just shared. The funny story that had finished. The funny story that had ended conversation.  
  
"Padfoot!" James shouted, confused. Lily just smirked.

"Sorry, must have spaced out," he muttered. "What were you saying?"

Lily chuckled, pushing his phone across the table. "Your phone buzzed, that's all."

His heart lifted, as well as his face, apparently, as the other pair seemed to giggle again. _Like they could talk._

**Freckles sent you a message**

_nunight pads x_

 

"Absolutely smitten, I tell you."

"Shut _up_ , Prongs."

"Oi! That hurt!"

"Now, now boys. You don't want me to send you to your rooms."

"Fuck off, Lil."

"Hey!"

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah so there we have it: The comeback chapter. Hope you guys liked it! As always, comment your thoughts down below and feel free to check me out on tumblr: @curiousoph


	6. Chapter 6

Remus woke to the sound of a rather persistent beeping. He rubbed his eyes, muttering a string of curses as his sleep muddled brain  attempted to pinpoint the source. _Is the flat on fire?_ was the first thought that crossed his mind. He soon dismissed it with the evidence that this beep was entirely foreign. (He had heard the fire alarm once before; it involved a stubborn, flour covered, Alice and homey date with Frank. They haven't talked about it since.)

His second thought was he had overslept, which forced him to sit bolt upright. Blinking rapidly and reaching for the curtains, he was greeted with a rose, orange and golden sky above the red roofed horizon. Clouds littered the sky, darkening in colour further north. His small room was lit with the setting sun, rays reaching as far as the skirting boards. From his estimation, it could only be 5pm at the latest. Sure, longer than he would have liked, but definitely not late for his shift.  
Remus only understood the beeping as he turned to check the time on his phone. It lay buzzing on his bedside table. The sound was so foreign to him, as he almost never received calls, and had set personal ringtones for his close friends, for the rare occasion that they did call.

"Fuck," he muttered, slim fingers clambering to slide the screen.  
"Um, hey," a smooth voice picked up, sighing in relief.

~~~~Remus slowly got to his feet and made his way to the rack of clothes against the opposite wall. He placed the phone down on his desk and selected speaker phone before he replied.

"One sec," he muttered, pulling on black skinnys as his mind raced to place the familiar sultry tone. _Where had he heard that before?_  
"Um, Remus, are you there?" The stranger pushed further.

Remus immediately recognised the voice as it said his name. Sirius. He saw the caller ID register as cheekbones ;). He mentally slapped himself.

"Oh," Remus said, flustered, reaching for a black tee and his working sweater from yesterday. "Oh, Sirius. Hi! Is everything okay?"  
"Definitely," Sirius answered, and Remus noticed the brightening of his tone. "Yeah, just concerned you weren't gonna pick up!"  
"Sorry, I was still asleep," Remus giggled (as manly as he could).  
"Oh fuck, sorry," Sirius' voice dropped.

Remus pulled the sweater over his head and grabbed the phone, switching off speakerphone and holding it to his ear. "No, don't be silly," he assured, before adding with a blush, "I can't think of a better sound to wake up to."  
Sirius snorted, obviously blushing too. Remus smiled. _Fuck, Alice was right, I'm so smitten._ "Let me just wake up the other two and I'll be right with you."

Sirius hummed.

Remus padded down the hallway in his socks, one green and stripy and the other black with small cream stars, phone in hand. He knocked on the door - or as Alice calls it, bashed - and groans immediately erupted from the room.  
"Piss the fuck off, Lupin!" Alice hollered, emitting a second groan from Frank.  
"How late is it?" a deeper voice called.  
"Quarter to five," Remus answered Frank, calmly.

"Okay, done. What's up?" Remus asked Sirius back into the phone.  
Sirius' answer was muffled by Alice's obnoxious nosiness. "Who are you talking to?" Her voice was still squeaky with sleep.  
"Uh, Sirius?" He replied, attempting to sound confident but coming out more as a question.  
"Hm?" Sirius and Alice questioned at the same time.  
"Another sec, sorry," Remus muttered quietly to Sirius.

"You two'd better be decent!" Remus hollered, and barrelled into the room.

Alice and Frank sat cuddled in their queen bed, the sheet wrapped around Alice's torso. Alice nuzzled her nose into Frank's nose, causing Remus to roll his eyes. Truthfully, he thought they were very cute together. He'd never admit that to anyone, though.

Remus cleared his throat, deciding to attack as efficiently as possible. "Sirius is on the phone, my shift starts in two hours, and I am hungry," he huffed, "So get up, shut up, and please Frank make some dinner?"

 Alice snorted, shoving Frank's bare chest toward the edge of the bed. "You heard our boyfriend," she giggled. She was grabbing a jumper off of the floor when she took a double take. "Wait, is Sirius on the line?"

"Yeah," Remus said, hands retracting into his jumper sleeves and feet shuffling on the floor. He looked up to see a very familiar expression on Alice. Determination.

"Run," Frank whispered, patting Remus on the shoulder as he exited the room.

Alice leapt out of bed, scrambling to reach his phone. Remus leapt backwards, lifting his phone far above his head. Both Frank and Remus were very tall, 6'0" and 6'3" respectively, which they used to their advantage against their 5'4" roommate. She flung herself at Remus, jumping up to reach only his elbow. Deciding her current plan of attack was going nowhere, she switched tactics. She grabbed Remus by the knees and pulled him onto the bed. With a grunt, Remus flopped onto the bed, collapsing with giggles. When Alice threatened more tickles, Remus surrendered.

"Okay, Okay," he wheezed holding his sides. "Here, then." Alice snatched the phone from the bed.

"What the fuck is going on?" Sirius asked bewildered. The pair giggled in response, the phone pressed against Alice's ear, and Remus' ear pressed against the back of his phone.

Sighing, Remus explained, "Alice is a nosy little shit!"

When Sirius chuckled, Alice responded with a small "Hiya!"

"So, what was it you wanted to tell me?" asked Remus, once all the laughter had died down.

Sirius paused for a moment. "Oh, um, yeah, about that..." he trailed off. Remus got the hint.

"S'okay," he assured, throwing a pillow of Alice's head and snatching the phone. He held her back at arm's length. "She's not listening anymore."

"Oh," Sirius said again. Remus could hear the grin in his voice. "Well, you're working tonight, right?"

Remus snorted. "Yeah I am. My Sunday shift is-"

"Six till nine. I know," Sirius hurried, before realising what he had said. Both boys blushed.

"Yep," Remus confirmed. "Was that all?"

"Oh, no," Sirius muttered, "D'you think it'd be okay if we hung out after?"

Remus blushed, spluttering another "Sorry, one second" and covered the phone's microphone. He turned to an expectant Alice, and squealed for approximately three seconds before regaining composure and returned to the conversation.

"Of course," he said happily, and Sirius released an audible breath. Remus shook his head at the other boy's ignorance. "Sirius. You're a great person and I like you. Don't fret."

Sirius let out a miniscule squeal and replied "Mhm. Me too."

Remus chuckled, "See you at five past nine?"

"Definitely."

 

* * *

 

"So?" The braided head of auburn hair was inside his room and sitting on his bed within four seconds of Sirius hanging up. "Are you gonna meet up, tonight?"

Sirius just nodded, eyes not leaving the phone in his hands. Lily chuckled, shaking his shoulders excitedly.

She lifted her head to the direction of the door, and called, "James, he's going out tonight!"

Sirius lifted his head to look Lily in the eyes. Suddenly, Lily's hands stilled, and rested on the sides of his face. "What's wrong, sweet?"

James entered, and upon seeing the scene before him, sat carefully behind his girlfriend, eyes cautious on Sirius.

"Nothing, just..." he tilted his head forward and mumbled into lap.

Lily shot a glance back at James, but he just shrugged. "What is that, Padfoot?"

His steel eyes peeked between his long black hair. "I think it's a skirt day."

Lily's eyes brightened and the pair visibly relaxed. "That's okay. Which one do you think you'll wear?"

But Sirius shook his head. "No, more than that. Do you reckon I could try using female pronouns, just for now?"

The three were silent for a moment. Sirius was open about being fairly fluid with his gender expression, but always thought it would be easier to just stick with male pronouns to avoid fuss. James spoke first.

"Of course, Pads!" he beamed, and Lily enthusiastically nodded in agreement. Sirius let out an shaky sigh of relief.

"Maybe," Lily proposed, "From now on,  we'll know 'Skirt Day' means feminine pronouns?"

"But I'll tell you, because sometimes, I just like skirts," Sirius clarified, fiddling with the hem of her jumper.

"Sounds good" James smiled.

"But," Lily interrupted, making Sirius' heart sink. She knew she was hoping for too much. "We still haven't picked out a skirt for you to wear!" Lily smiled.

Sirius beamed back. How on earth she got the best friends in the world, she had no idea. Her thoughts flickered to Remus, but didn't stay negative for long, as she remembered their previous conversation about pronouns. He may have even been the switch that encouraged her to take the leap. Oh, how she missed seeing his gorgeous, freckly face.

She turned to Lily, who had sat patiently while Sirius dove into her own thoughts. "We've only got four hours!"

James rolled his eyes and went back to studying in the lounge. The girls stood, ready to face the closet.

Three hours, forty-eight outfit combinations, six milkshakes, three pizzas, one braiding circle, and advice from one very amused James later, Sirius was ready to go.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's another chapter?! I don't even know what's up with this current inspiration, but hopefully you're profiting from it. It's just some cute fluffy filler, I know. Don't worry, it picks up from here! Feel free to say hi in the comments and check me out on tumblr [@curiousoph](http://curiousoph.tumblr.com/)

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first published fanfic, and despite having written them for a few years now, I am still getting used to things. Let me know what you think below!


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